Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

My alarm blares at me at an obscenely early hour the next morning. Rolling out of bed my body aches from the sparring session I had last night with a few friends I have kept in contact with from my old dojo. I haven't formally trained in years due to how involved I was in gymnastics a few years ago, but after that ended in disaster, I've found myself slowly slipping back into the sparring.

The energy that I take in from my environment is almost suffocating some days and it can get to the point that I can't focus on anything around me. It can be difficult some days to sit in class or an office all the time and just do paperwork. I need to be up and active or else I become super fidgety due to the excess stimulus I am constantly surrounded by. My glasses are great for helping me see the world properly, but they have no effect on the energy I am constantly absorbing.

Arriving at work the woman at the front desk directs me to the fifth floor this morning and gives me ID with a photo on it. The photo is the one I had to attach to my application. I take the elevator up and peer around the fifth floor and see that there are a lot of smaller laboratories with people already working.

"Aviva you are the first one here, you can go down to lab 'D'," a voice that is quickly becoming familiar says to me. I see Alexander leaning against the wall.

"Okay,"

Wandering around until I find the right lab, I go in. Glancing around quickly, I observe the lab and all of the equipment. There are a lot of very familiar tools and machines and quite a few that I have never seen before. A lot of them are simple tools but some machines look very complex and like the user manual is over one hundred pages long. I take a seat at the table in the corner and wait for everyone else to file in. Everyone but Randy is in the room at five after eight and I can tell the others are confused.

I have a vague memory of him strutting into my lecture hall late frequently. The teacher would always scold him, but I don't think she even knew his name. I didn't even know his name until now. At ten after Randy walks in looking very flustered and Alexander follows behind him looking calm and collected.

"I have reviewed both of the proposals and I think the Molecular Splicer would be quite the challenge but a phenomenal project for such a young team to take on," Alexander says simply. He puts the proposal on the table, and I can't help but smile, that was my idea.

"As a group, we decided that working on the bow staff that converts to a shield would be better a project," Randy interjects. When did we decide that? Alexander simply raises an eyebrow at us.

"I think that would be a better project as well," Thomas says.

"What does the team leader think?" Alexander asks looking directly at me.

I bite my lip and look at the group. The last thing I need is to push the group towards a project they didn't want to do and have them resent me for taking it on. We would need all hands on deck for both projects, so I might as well go with the one that is clearly favored even though the molecular splicer would be amazing.

"The staff sounds like fun," I say in a monotone voice.

"Any objections?" Alexander asks

Nobody objects, so he tells us that the metal we requested will be in by next week and we should use this time wisely for planning and mock-ups. We all received our ID's this morning which would allow us access to certain supply rooms. He wants a mockup by the end of the week or at least a solid plan.

We get to work on the plans as soon as he leaves. Most of the day goes by fairly uneventfully, occasionally Randy and Thomas decide to challenge my math and the equations I am using. It is almost too easy for me to shut them down and show them why this method was the more efficient one. I do my best to not let them get under my skin. I don't care about being the leader of this team, I just want us to get the work done in the time allotted.

By the time the day ends I am thankful that I can leave. Everyone clears out quickly and I clean up and organize all of our work for today. It feels good to get up and move around after being stagnant in this lab all day. I flick off the lights and close the door behind me. Once I hear the automatic lock click, I walk towards the stairs and walk down them. Walking through the lobby I feel someone start walking beside me and my nerves are immediately set on edge.

"Good evening Miss Arlington, how are you?" Lyle asks me with a charming smile. I don't know why he irritates me so much, but something that just makes my skin crawl.

"I am well, how are you, Mr. Caspian?" I ask trying to be polite as we leave the building.

"I am doing just fine. How goes the progress on your project?" He asks turning and walking in the same direction as me. It's only the first day, we didn't make a lot of progress.

"We have a few things running right now as we work through the trials and numbers," I say pushing my glasses up.

"How wonderful, I wish you the best of luck," he says before crossing the street.

I breathe a sigh of relief as he moves further away from me. I opt to walk home to help relieve some of the energy I feel buzzing around my system. The walk is uneventful until I am a few blocks from my apartment. I hear some alarm bells going off and as I turn a corner, I see two little stores on fire and people trying to help put it out. I am bumped into by a mom fleeing the scene with her kids.

My glasses slip down my face and the fire is distorted into millions of molecules. Without even thinking I focus on the oxygen molecules floating around and I pull hydrogen molecules from the atmosphere and start attaching them to the oxygen. I feel a faint zap from the electrolysis happening but I can't help but watch in amazement as I repeat the process thousands of times in a matter of a minute. The fire dims dramatically and the store owners with the hose are able to finally put the small but rapidly growing fire out.

I snap out of my trance and push my glasses back up my face. Knocking my hair into my face and putting my head down I move around the people and finally continue on with my walk home. A strange sense of calm overtakes me and I marvel at how unagitated and relaxed I feel.

I am glad I was able to help those people without being caught, but I'm not supposed to do things like that! If my dad finds out he will be very upset with me. Doing that, whatever that maybe is wrong and not natural, and I can hurt people again. How can I become so distracted so easily? I think about all the students who ended up in the hospital.

"Aviva, I am home!" My dad calls out. I force a smile onto my face and walk out and greet my dad.

"What's wrong?" My dad asks not buying my bluff.

"There was a fire at the little market a few blocks away," I say with a saddened look.

"I saw that pumpkin, I am sure Sal will bounce back just fine," my dad says ruffling my hair before walking into the kitchen.

"You're right..." I say staring at his back.

Why did manipulating my surroundings today calm me down so much? 




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